Vehicle wheel covers that do not rotate relative to their corresponding vehicle wheels are well known in the art.
In a first prior art wheel cover arrangement, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 2,548,070, the wheel cover assembly is attached directly to a non-rotatable axial vehicle element such as a stub axle, and the wheel and tire rim rotate around and behind the cover when the vehicle is in motion, the cover remaining stationary with respect to the wheel and rim. This arrangement is not useful with modern wheel assemblies, and especially rear wheel assemblies, wherein non-rotatable vehicle elements are not available for mounting. In the wheel assemblies of driven wheels, the wheel axle rotates and therefore no stationary axle is present.
In a second prior art wheel cover arrangement, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,989, the wheel cover assembly includes a coaxial bearing system wherein one bearing race is attached to rotatable elements of a vehicle wheel, such as a wheel hub or tire rim, and the other bearing race is attached to the wheel cover. The wheel cover is symmetrical about a vertical plane containing both the wheel axis and the gravitational direction extending therefrom. Symmetrical wheel covers in the prior art are prevented from rotation by addition of one or more weights to lower the center of mass below the center of rotation to cause the wheel cover to assume a predetermined angular position with respect to the vertical plane.
It is known to use a single weight, as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,432,274; 2,130,220; and 5,659,989. It is further known to use two equal weights disposed symmetrically at equal radial distances from the wheel axis on either side of the vertical plane, as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,262.
A prior art wheel cover is typically a simple disc, either flat as disclosed in, for example, either of U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,432,274 and 2,869,262, or domed as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,130,220. A prior art symmetrical wheel cover may not cover the entire wheel surface and may comprise a symmetrical filigree pattern as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,989.
A serious shortcoming of all prior art stationary wheel cover disclosures is that they are suited only to either non-ornamented designs such as plain discs or symmetrical designs.
What is needed in the art is a wheel cover system wherein a wheel cover design may be of any form, may be symmetrical or non-symmetrical, may be filigreed to cover part or all of a wheel, and may be positioned at any desired angular orientation consistent with the laws of gravity.
It is a principal object of the present invention to position any stationary wheel cover at any desired angular position.
It is a further object of the invention to facilitate the stationary mounting and angular positioning of non-symmetrical wheel covers which may be filigreed and may be in the form of indicia.